Idiom
American Dream
Meaning
The ideal stressing egalitarianism and that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve material prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Many people move here to pursue the American Dream.”
“Does the American Dream still exist for young workers today?”
“Hard work is the main requirement to achieve the American Dream.”
“His parents worked two jobs for years because they believed in the American Dream for their children.”
“Owning a small business and buying a home are often seen as the two most important parts of the American Dream.”
“She felt she lived the American Dream after starting her own company in a garage and becoming a millionaire.”
“Critics argue that rising housing costs make the American Dream impossible for people who do not have a lot of money saved.”
“The novel explores the disillusionment of a family that sacrificed everything to chase the American Dream, only to find that success remained perpetually out of reach.”
Examples
simple
“Many people move here to pursue the American Dream.”
“Does the American Dream still exist for young workers today?”
“Hard work is the main requirement to achieve the American Dream.”
contextual
“His parents worked two jobs for years because they believed in the American Dream for their children.”
“Owning a small business and buying a home are often seen as the two most important parts of the American Dream.”
“She felt she lived the American Dream after starting her own company in a garage and becoming a millionaire.”
“Critics argue that rising housing costs make the American Dream impossible for people who do not have a lot of money saved.”
complex
“The novel explores the disillusionment of a family that sacrificed everything to chase the American Dream, only to find that success remained perpetually out of reach.”
Origin
Of unknown origin. First attested in the 1910s. Popularized by American writer and historian James Truslow Adams in 1931.
Key words
Related idioms
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